Rolling Stones put 500 tracks online

The Rolling Stones, once happier to sue than share, have agreed to make their 40-year back catalogue accessible legally for downloading from the internet.

In a deal between the band, online music network Rhapsody and retailer Best Buy, more than 500 tracks will be available at around 47p each on the website Listen.com.

The move is symptomatic of a recent change in attitude towards digital music by big record companies. David Munns, chairman of EMI Music North America, said: "This is a tremendous step forward in EMI's very aggressive push to expand and improve legitimate digital music services."

Earlier rights were held by Universal, under a licence prohibiting digital usage. EMI/Virgin, new proprietors of material dating from 1971, removed red tape which kept tracks such as (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction from internet fans. The songs will be available on the Rhapsody network for the last two weeks of this month and then through the record giant itself.

Ted Cohen, EMI Music's senior vice-president for digital development and distribution, emphasised the importance of the event for the growth of digital music. "It is a watershed event. One of the top bands in the world is putting its entire catalogue together, united on one of the top online music services."

Rhapsody, home to 350,000 music tracks, is backed by web media giants Real Networks. It is competing legally with more popular download services such as Kazaa by installing internet kiosks in Best Buy music shops in the US.

Mark Hall, vice-president of international RealOne, part of Real Networks, said: "We are beginning to crack through the barriers. The Rolling Stones are the first of a handful of significant artists to allow their repertoire to be shared.

"The digital medium is reaching its critical mass, they can't afford to ignore us any more. Hopefully, we'll see artists like The Beatles and Madonna following suit, and moving to a great new means of enjoying music."

Conor McNicholas, editor of the music weekly NME, said: "For the first time, consumers are dictating how they want music. They read one of our articles, or hear a song, then download immediately. People are innovating and using the technology that's out there faster than the record companies are."

His views are echoed by Dr Leonardo Chiariglione, credited with inventing the mp3 format in the early 1990s.

"Technology advances offer a convergence point between the goals of all multimedia actors: creators, intermediaries and users. It is high time that technology be used to keep the unfulfilled promises."